Galen Glen Winery, 255 Winter Mountain Drive, Andreas, will welcome author Elisa Costantini from noon to 2 p.m. on June 24-25 for a wine pairing and book signing.

The Philadelphia-area author will share her latest release, "Italian Moms - Spreading Their Art to Every Table."Costantini published her first book after the death of her husband and an expensive battle with cancer left her concerned about her financial independence. She compiled the book with the help of her son, Frank Costantini.Tasting room manager, Kathy Matson, heard about Costantini after her appearance on "The Rachel Ray Show" and found her story inspiring."I knew I had to reach out and invite her to be part of our annual summer cookbook signing events. We were so honored that she said, 'Yes!'"The winery will be offering a sampling of a recipe from the book paired with one of their award-winning aromatic white wines. Guests to the winery can purchase copies of the book and have them signed.When asked about helping his mother to get her time-honored recipes into book form, Frank Costantini said, "This book was not easy to say the least. Like most great cooks, a pinch of this, a pinch of that, is traditionally the way around a stove, so working with mom to capture her secrets on paper took some time, but a project, as her son, I was committed to seeing come to print."Initially self-published, the book has been signed by Sterling Publishers Inc.Costantini was born in 1938 in Poggio Valle, Italy. The daughter of farmers, she learned to cook at a very young age as an apprentice to a local chef using simple, fresh ingredients to create wonderful food for those closest to her. At the age of 23, she immigrated to the United States with her late husband, Francesco, and daughter, Nadia.Once here, she started from scratch to build a family and an endless circle of friends. For more than 35 years, she has used her expert cooking skills to provide for children with special needs at Divine Providence Village in Springfield. She was recently the recipient of an honorary degree from Chestnut Hill College.For more information visit

www.galenglen.com, "like" it on Facebook or call 570-386-3682.